On October 28, 2021, a majority of members on the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 15-7 to advance to the full U.S. Senate a bipartisan bill that would make a number of amendments to the federal False Claims Act (FCA). These proposed amendments are significant for two primary reasons: (1) a bipartisan group of senators drafted the proposed legislation with the intent of strengthening the FCA as a tool for the government to prosecute fraud perpetrated against the United States; and (2) the proposed amendments portend, regardless of their actual enactment, potential future changes to the various state false claims acts across the country, which are modeled after the federal FCA but are often more aggressive than their federal counterpart.[1]
I. Background on the Federal FCA and Its State Analogs
The FCA applies to anyone who knowingly submits false or fraudulent claims for payment to the U.S. Government or who knowingly fails to return funds that are owed to the government.[2] The origins of the law date back to the Civil War when unscrupulous contractors defrauded the Union Army, selling it, among other things, faulty rifles and ammunition, rancid rations, and lame horses. According to the courts, Congress passed the FCA with the general intent to “reach any person who knowingly assisted in causing the government to pay claims which were grounded in fraud.”[3] Today, liability under the FCA involves the following: (1) a false statement or fraudulent course of conduct; (2)...
The League clarified that its forums are intended to give voters a side-by-side look at candidates’ platforms, not to endorse contenders. The League of Women Voters of the St. Petersburg Area (LWVS...